Like A Star
by Inu Kaiba
Summary: Serenity, in her attempts to rescue Joey, falters and nearly drowns. But as always, Tristan and Duke are there to save the day. TristanxSerenity


Inu Kaiba: Drabble-ish piece that takes place during the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 78, and goes a little bit AU. Ardentshipping love, because Tristan's crush on Serenity is OMG!cute, and it's for YGO Contest Season 4, round 3. Enjoy!

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Joey was going to die if she didn't do something. That was the only thing going through Serenity's mind as she tore off her blindfold, ran onto the platform, slipped her hand into the box, and grabbed the key to the anchor.

Then using strength she didn't know she had, Serenity Wheeler dove into the water to rescue her older brother.

Of course Serenity didn't know she had such strength, because to put it quite simply, she didn't. As she kicked her way underwater towards Joey, she felt an intense pain in her stomach, causing her to curl up in a little ball. Unable to move, she sucked in water, again and again and again. The water entering her lungs caused her to sink rather than float, and she mimicked her brother's descent to the ocean floor in a way that was almost ironic.

After a couple minutes, Tristan and Duke began to panic.

"Is Serenity okay? She's been down there an awfully long time…" Tristan admitted worriedly, speaking everyone's thoughts aloud.

"1-3 I go after her, 4-6 you go after her?" Duke offered, pulling a dice from his pocket, and tossing it into the air, catching it moments later.

Any other time, Tristan would've bothered to go for the dice roll in their constant contest to see who could win over Serenity. However, in this case, he didn't even bother to tell Duke what was on his mind (which was that he had absolutely no tact), just started running, yelling over his shoulder at Duke to come help him.

Duke, being the idiot he was, handed the dice to Tea for safe keeping, before following Tristan's dive into the water.

Below the surface, Tristan could see Serenity curled up in a ball lying next to her brother on the ocean floor. He kicked furiously, trying to reach her as fast as possible. Duke reached him moments later, just as Tristan had enclosed Serenity in his arms. He handed the key to Duke, mimicking opening a lock with his hand, before kicking frantically to return the pair to the surface.

However, when they got there, Serenity didn't breathe, and her eyes remained closed. Tristan swam over to the dock, where Yugi and Tea helped pull Serenity ashore. Tristan and the others didn't need to speak, the decision was unanimous. He gently pressed his hands on Serenity's chest, alternating between breathing in to her lungs, and pumping her chest to get the water out.

Eventually, Serenity coughed a few times, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Tristan? What happened?" she asked nervously, gazing around at the faces who were curiously peering back.

"You started drowning Serenity, when you went to rescue Joey," Tristan explained.

"Joey, is he alright??" Serenity began panicking, glancing around and trying to stand in order to go back into the water and rescue her brother, but Tristan placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"It's fine Serenity, I got it." Duke said, in between repeating the same process Tristan had gone through just moments ago with Joey.

"Oh thank god," Serenity said, breathing a sigh of relief, and laying back down on the ground, closing her eyes contentedly.

"Serenity… you shouldn't lie on the ground, it's really gross, and you don't know what's been there…" Tristan said hesitantly.

"Oh, Tristan, you big worrywart," Serenity said, sitting back up and laughing.

Tristan looked away, blushing, his cheeks giving away his clear embarrassment, eyes downcast on the ground.

"It's okay, I love you anyways," She added, smiling at him.

Tristan smiled, giving her a hug. Was it really possible that Serenity really did like him the same way he liked her? But she was hugging him back, arms pressed tightly around him. And her smile _had _been just for him. Even if she didn't like him, as long as he had her, it didn't matter.

Because, like a star, Serenity would continue to be the bright, shining beauty in his life.


End file.
